Reborn (The Cartographer Book 2) (5 page)

He opened the door and frowned at the Defense Fleet commander. Exhaustion lined his pale face and his golden beard seemed
grayer
. His arm, bound in a sling, made him wince with every movement. It seemed like he had aged ten years since the last time Kedge saw him.

“I feel better than I look,” he replied when he spotted Kedge's sour look. With a grunt he settled into one of the chairs.

“I'm surprised you came to see me.” Kedge folded his arms across his chest but did not move to sit. “I'm glad you did, though, because I wanted to request more comfortable quarters. Can you help with that?”

Embeth ran his hand through his long golden hair which, much like his beard, had grayed significantly. “I'm not some servant wench here to serve you, Kedge. I'm here to talk about Nathan.”

Curiosity overcame him and he sat. “Nathan? Why discuss him with me?”

Embeth shifted his weight in the chair with a grimace. “Something is not right within the ranks of the Consortium and you may be the only one I can turn to for advice.”

Sensing a trap, Kedge bristled. “How many times must I prove my loyalty to you people? You don't need to keep throwing physical or mental tests at me. You mistrust me, I get the point.”

“It's not like that at all,” Embeth replied with a true look of confusion. “I fear for his safety. The High Prince was much too quick to pass judgment on Earth.” He stared at the floor. “The more I dwell on the subject the more I believe Meta suggested it because of Nathan and not because of the time hole.”

This had been an interesting turn of events. The leader of the Defense Fleet chose to confide in his longtime adversary rather than his own Council. The situation reeked of irony. His curiosity made him probe for more information. “So why come to me?”

Embeth shifted uncomfortably but Kedge wasn't sure if it was the pain from his wounds or the emotional pain that comes with confiding in a former enemy. “You have been around a long time. You have battled the Consortium almost as long. You survived to see several High Princes come and go.” Embeth placed his fist in his hand and cracked his knuckles. Within the confines of the room it sounded like a gunshot. “How many times you have seen Helios Protocol in action?”

Kedge narrowed his eyes and picked at the metal plate covering his throat. “Well, I lived
through
one on Mars,” he replied. The venom in his voice caused a pained look to spread across Embeth's face. The Council had been well aware of the bloody history of Mars and the pain caused by both sides. “There was this small planet in the GX-650 system where the atmosphere had been shredded by a meteor storm decades after Mars. The High Prince at the time, Flir or Flint or something like that, invoked Helios Protocol.” He scratched at his monocled eye. “No others come to mind.”

Embeth nodded and tugged at his beard. He seemed to absorb the words as water to a sponge. “I see,” he sighed, standing abruptly. “Two events within a span of thousands of years.”

Kedge leaned back and watched him shuffle toward the door favoring his injured shoulder. “Wait!” he cried out and Embeth stopped with his hand on the door. “What does this have to do with Nathan?”

Embeth turned and stared at him icily. “Hopefully nothing. Possibly everything.”

Kedge rubbed his temples. “That was very helpful,” he muttered.

Embeth turned to the door and lowered his head. “Can I count on you to watch over him?”

Kedge shifted uneasily in his chair and for the first time it wasn't because of its comfort. Embeth's request came as a surprise. Flashbacks of the child and his mother haunted him. His dreams of leading the Lumagom to avenge such atrocities had been dashed by Calypso. Embeth's request allowed him an opportunity to redeem himself. “Yes,” he whispered and looked to the floor.

Embeth closed the door, leaving Kedge alone with his decision. He vowed he would never become another Ales. He would never sit idly by while innocents were murdered and brutalized before his eyes. With fists clenched he stood at the window. His monocled eye zoomed in and out rapidly as he focused on the emptiness of space.

Never again
.

An Old Friend

“What?” Meta roared. The Tyrian crew member that stood before him was six inches taller than Meta, but still cowered under the murderous look etched on the High Prince's face.

“I'm sssorry, sssir,” he whimpered through his reptilian lisp. “The Proteus boarding party checked every corner of the ssship and we found no life sssigns aboard.”

Lianne stood beside him, arms crossed, with a sour look. “We detected no shuttle launches from the Cirrus,” she concurred. “We did, however, discover two shuttles missing.”

Embeth burst in the room. “Did they find the map?”

Lianne turned to an officer sitting at the communication panel. “Patch me in to Captain Muriel.”

When the image of the captain appeared on the screen, the little hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention. His stout frame filled the screen and his hard, black eyes peered down at us perched above a dull-gray beak. He reminded me of a toucan and I discovered later that he was actually from the planet Atrora. A leathery, clawed hand wiped away a thin film of spittle from his toothy maw.

“It's nice to see you again, Lianne.” He screeched. His voice sounded like fingernails scraping across a chalkboard. I touched my ears to make sure they weren't bleeding.

“Hello my old friend,” Lianne said warmly. “You probably know what I am about to ask.”

Muriel nodded. “Why hasn't anyone been located aboard the Cirrus?” he asked on her behalf. “I am as confused as you are. There were no signs of shuttles launching from the Cirrus. Our conclusion is the ship launched from Earth without a crew.”

“Is that possible?” I asked. I felt stupid asking the question but I was no starship engineer.

The captain turned to me. “It is.”

“Any sign of the map?” Lianne asked.

He held his clawed hand up to the screen. A collective sigh of relief came from the room. He held the disk which contained the map.

Lianne smiled, clearly relieved. “Thank you, my friend.”

I felt Embeth's hand on my shoulder. “We should reunite you two and locate that time hole.”

“What about those on Earth?” I looked at him, filled with concern. His hand fell away when he understood the implication.

Everyone turned when Satou barged in, holding a silver beaker in his hands. “Meta, the President is conscious.”

“What is that?” Meta asked indicating the object in Satou's hands.

“Hark-Kalech assisted me with synthesizing what I believe is an effective cure for the curse afflicting the President.” He sounded confident but there was traces of doubt in his words.

“So what's wrong?” Meta asked, sensing the concern.

Satou frowned. “Well unfortunately I do not have a test subject and we are short on time. I fear we will have to administer it untested.”

“We need to make it quick,” I urged. “We have to return to Earth because Calypso is there with more of the infected.”

“Yes,” agreed Embeth. “I shall accompany you, Nathan. We must eliminate Calypso while we still have the opportunity.”

Lianne disagreed. “You can't do anything in your condition, Embeth. You would be more of a hindrance than a help.”

“Bah, what condition is that?” he bellowed. “I can take care of myself.”

“I will take his place,” a voice called from the door.

Kedge stood in the doorway. His fierce look of resolve dissuaded anyone from offering a counter proposal.

“I will go as well,” offered Lianne.

“As will I,” Satou added.

Meta shook his head. “No, Satou. I need you here to continue your efforts in working toward a cure. We will need more than that beaker.”

Satou attempted to argue but Meta held up his hand.

“Don't worry yourself, I will send someone in your place.” He turned to a nearby communication panel. “You will need someone who is an effective negotiator in case of human interference.”

He pressed the button on the intercom. “Kale, I need you to report to the bridge.”

“Oh no, not that dude. He hates me.” I recalled our last unpleasant conversation aboard the Argus.

Meta turned to Satou. “Can you please show Nathan to the room I have prepared? It is on Deck Nine next to the visitor's lounge.”

Satou nodded. “Come on, Nathan, you need some rest before your big homecoming.”

*

I was back on Earth inside my own home in New Mexico. I don't remember when or how I got there. The house was still a mess and I frowned at the tower of dishes that came dangerously close to crashing to the floor.

“Mom? Dad?” Only silence responded to my calls.

I climbed the stairs toward their bedroom. At the top of the stairs a large cobweb tickled my face, forming a thin veil across my eyes.
What the hell?
I brushed it aside and spit out the remains. My hand fell on the doorknob to their bedroom.

“Mom?” I called out and placed my ear against the door. It was as silent on the inside as it was on the outside. “Dad?”
Nothing
. After several moments of continued silence I turned the knob.

The door swung open slowly. When it swung open completely it revealed the scene inside. I felt a sinking feeling in my gut and I had to hold onto the door for support. My parents hung upside down from the ceiling fan in the middle of the room. Thick hemp cords were wrapped around their ankles and their throats had been sliced open from ear to ear, creating macabre throat smiles. Blood collected on the floor forming gelatinous red pools on the carpet. In one darkened corner of the room the shadow of a man stirred. Moonlight from the nearby window barely illuminated him. When he stepped forward the moonlight caught his eyes, offering a faint glimpse of lavender. Those eyes were unlike any I had ever seen. The hair on the back of my neck stood tall. A burgundy hood covered his head, but his eyes pierced the darkness.

“Welcome, Cartographer,” he purred in such a low voice that I could barely hear him. “It is unfortunate we have to meet like this.”

“You killed my parents.” It was a statement more than a question.

The stranger glided across the floor toward me. Despite the ill look in his eyes, his words had a soothing aspect to them. “It's not what I did, Cartographer, it's what you did.” He stood before me, towering over me with his six-foot frame.

My mouth dried. It felt like someone had dumped a bag of sand down my throat. “Who are you?” I croaked.

He grinned. It was the grin of a demon wrapped in an angel's skin. His teeth were too white, his lips too perfect. “My name is Solomon Corvus.” The smile widened, revealing more pearl-white perfection. His smile distracted me and I missed his hand sliding into his robe.

“What are you?” My question was barely a whisper.

He leaned in closer. “The future,” he whispered in return. He produced a knife from his robe but I never felt the weapon in my stomach. He smiled even when he disemboweled me.

I heard my guts fall to the floor, but it didn't matter. His eyes had me in locked in their captivating embrace. “You are the past. I am the future, Cartographer. Your friends will abandon you. All will abandon you. Your cause is hopeless.”

I fell to my knees in a pile of my own gore. My parents continued to swing from the ceiling fan above while the last of my lifeblood ebbed from me. Before I lost consciousness, I saw my dead father yelling at me.

“
Wake up, Nathan
!”

My head hit something hard. It felt like a long, smooth piece of wood. I opened my eyes to see Kedge standing over me, his face a mask of worry. He bopped me on the head with his staff again.

“Ouch!” I cried. “Stop doing that, I'm awake!”

“Sorry.” Kedge frowned. “You were screaming in your sleep. I had to snap you out of it.”

I rubbed my eyes. “I just had one hell of a dream.”

Kedge straightened and put his staff away. “Dreams are portals into our subconscious. They can be a valuable resource.”

“My parents were dead and I was murdered,” I grumbled. “Remind me to thank my brain for its 'resources'.”

His monocled eye adjusted, locked onto me and studied my face. “Death is easy,” he responded.

“Excuse me?” I cocked an eyebrow.

“Death is easy, Nathan. It's life that's hard.”

“Thanks, Buddha. What the hell does that mean?”

He slid into a chair. “Once death happens it is over and done with. Life is what's hard, Nathan. Life is filled with depression, pain and difficult decisions. Life is an eternal maze, with no exit.”

“Aren't you just a big bag of sunshine this morning?” I quipped. “Life is also filled with wonders, love and happiness.”

“I guess it depends on your perspective.” He shrugged and studied my face. “It seems there might be more to this dream than you're telling me.”

You got that right
. I wasn't sure I wanted to reveal the details. Its violent brutality still haunted me. After several moments I closed my eyes and eventually relented. “Well…no.”

Kedge leaned forward with his elbows propped on his knees. “Go ahead.”